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As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best Atlantic Council expert insight and analysis on Ukraine twice a week directly to your inbox.

editor’s picks

Latest analysis

UkraineAlert

Sep 9, 2021

Odesa’s unique place in Ukraine’s cultural evolution

By Andrew D’Anieri

Ukrainian Black Sea port city Odesa occupies a unique place in the country's cultural evolution thanks to its unrivaled international pedigree and the limitless creative ambitions of the local cultural community.

Civil Society Resilience & Society

UkraineAlert

Sep 9, 2021

Why Ukraine must join NATO

By Adrian Hoefer

Given the Kremlin's hostile revisionism, Ukraine's membership in NATO is in the long-term interest of the US and its allies. As Moscow expands its hybrid war on the West, Ukraine is an asset.

Eastern Europe International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Sep 9, 2021

Navigating the geopolitical battlefield of Ukrainian history

By Serhii Plokhy

Prominent Ukrainian historian Serhii Plokhy's latest essay collection seeks to demonstrate how the country's evolving sense of national history is central to Ukraine’s current war with Russia and its relations with the West.

Resilience & Society Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2021

Could Vladimir Putin repeat his Crimean conquest in southwestern Ukraine?

By Michael Druckman

The Bessarabia region in southwestern Ukraine shares many of the same characteristics that helped facilitate the 2014 Kremlin takeover of Crimea and should be a national security priority for the Ukrainian authorities.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2021

Ukraine’s digital revolution is gaining momentum

By Mykhailo Fedorov

September marks the second anniversary of Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation. The Ministry can report significant progress in turning President Zelenskyy's dreams of a digital revolution into reality.

Digital Policy Internet

UkraineAlert

Sep 5, 2021

US anti-corruption crusade should focus on Europe’s east

By Janusz Bugajski

By making the fight against corruption a key US foreign policy priority, President Biden can counter the Kremlin's efforts to gain influence throughout Central and Eastern Europe via the exploitation of corruption.

Central Europe Corruption

UkraineAlert

Sep 2, 2021

Biden and Zelenskyy get US-Ukraine ties back on track

By Peter Dickinson

US President Joe Biden hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on September 1 for a meeting that sought to reaffirm America’s unwavering commitment to Ukrainian sovereignty.

Democratic Transitions Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Sep 1, 2021

Young Ukrainians must not remain hostages to the country’s totalitarian trauma

By Sonya Rashkovan

Modern Ukraine remains haunted by the legacy of the country's deeply troubled history, but the emerging generation of young Ukrainians must move beyond this totalitarian trauma in order to build a better future, argues 16-year-old student activist Sonya Rashkovan.

Democratic Transitions Resilience & Society

UkraineAlert

Aug 31, 2021

Could Snake Island be the next hot spot in Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine war?

By Andrew D’Anieri, Doug Klain

Vladimir Putin's hybrid war against Ukraine is now in its eighth year and shows no signs of ending. Many expect the next escalation to come in the Black Sea, with Ukraine's Snake Island a potentially attractive target.

Conflict Maritime Security

UkraineAlert

Aug 30, 2021

What unites Ukrainians?

By Arena

As Ukraine enters its fourth decade of statehood, new research based on more than 20 focus groups held across the country offers fascinating insights into the issues and experiences that unite Ukrainians.

Democratic Transitions Resilience & Society

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The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.

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UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2020

Has Vladimir Putin poisoned his pet pipeline project?

By Diane Francis

Germany had long resisted US calls to abandon the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, but the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has now sparked a dramatic shift in German opinion.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Sep 3, 2020

Ukraine quietly launches a gas market revolution

By Oleksandr Kharchenko

A gas market revolution has just taken place in Ukraine. This significant development has occurred without much fanfare, but it comes following five long years of intense political battles.

Energy Markets & Governance Oil and Gas

UkraineAlert

Sep 1, 2020

Pro-Kremlin MPs and oligarchs wage lawfare on Ukraine’s reform agenda

By Tetiana Shevchuk

Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has declared the 2015 appointment of Artem Sytnyk as director of the country’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) unconstitutional, placing the country's reform agenda in doubt.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2020

How Ukraine can go from brain drain to brain gain

By Anton Waschuk and Andriy Kamenetskyy

Highly skilled Ukrainians continue to leave the country in order to further their careers. Greater efforts are required to keep this key demographic in the country for the benefit of the wider Ukrainian economy.

Economy & Business Education

UkraineAlert

Aug 22, 2020

Top Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskiy faces growing international legal troubles

By Diane Francis

Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskiy is facing growing international legal troubles as a range of investigations into alleged corrupt practices at his former bank PrivatBank continue to gain momentum.

Corruption Financial Regulation

UkraineAlert

Aug 21, 2020

Navalny joins long list of poisoned Putin critics

By Peter Dickinson

Expert Opinion: What does the suspected poisoning of Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny tell us about the current political climate in Putin’s Russia?

Russia

BelarusAlert

Aug 20, 2020

Lukashenka is wrong to use Ukraine as a cautionary tale

By Paul Niland

Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has warned that pro-democracy protests will turn Belarus into another Ukraine - but Ukaine's woes are due to Russian aggression not the country's 2014 revolution.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

Aug 20, 2020

Vladimir Putin’s forever war against Ukraine continues

By Taras Kuzio

While geopolitical attention focuses on Belarus, Putin’s hybrid war in neighboring Ukraine continues. It has already sparked the outbreak of a new Cold War, and there is currently no end in sight to the conflict.

Conflict Disinformation

BelarusAlert

Aug 17, 2020

Alarm bells in Ukraine as Lukashenka calls on Putin to rescue his crumbling regime

By Bohdan Nahaylo

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is on the verge of being swept out of office by a wave of pro-democracy protests. He has called on Putin to save his regime, sparking alarm in neighboring Ukraine.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

Aug 13, 2020

Front line communities and Ukraine’s local elections

By Andreas Umland

Ukraine plans to hold nationwide local elections in October 2020, but areas close to the front lines of the conflict with Russia in the east of the country will not participate. How can these regions be best managed?

Conflict Democratic Transitions